ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: After three days of low incidence, the capital saw a slight increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with 271 people testing positive.

Officials said on June 23 as many as 307 positive cases had emerged followed by 264 on June 24 and 227 on June 25.

With the new cases, the tally of confirmed patients reached 11,981 with 5,332 being active.

The death toll increased to 120 as one more patient died on Friday. The deceased in the age group of 60-69 was admitted to a hospital.

So far, 2,792 people in the age group of 30-39 have contracted the virus followed by 2,193 in the age group of 20-29, 1,968 aged 40-49, 1,519 aged 50-59, 1,157 aged 0-9 years, 857 aged 60-69, 755 aged 10-19, 331 aged 70-79 and 111 aged 80 and above. The ages of 281 patients are not known.

Rawalpindi reports more positive cases, officials say

Since the outbreak, 44 patients in the age group of 60-69 have died followed by 22 from the age group of 70-79, 18 in the age group of 50-59, 15 aged 40-49, 15 aged 80 and above and six aged 30-39 years. As many as 78 of the deceased were males and 42 females.

In Rawalpindi, 51 people tested positive for Covid-19 while one patient died and 122 others were discharged.

Officials said a 55-year-old resident of Amarpura was admitted to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) on June 25 where he died on Friday morning.

The number of confirmed patients in the district now stands at 5,471 while 242 people have died and 2,839 patients have recovered from the disease.

At present, 2,390 confirmed patients from Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan, Taxila, Murree, Kotli Sattian, Kallar Syedan and Kahuta are under treatment. As many as 922 patients are at RIU, Holy Family Hospital and Benazir Bhutto Hospital while 1,468 are isolated in their houses.

Apart from this, 1,768 suspected patients are admitted to four public-sector hospitals.

The local administrations have also kept 5,900 people, who had close contacts with confirmed patients, in quarantine.

The number of patients is increasing in Rawalpindi district as 5,471 confirmed patients were reported in the last three months while 415 patients surfaced in Attock, 369 in Jhelum and 218 in Chakwal.

As many as 291 patients have died in the Rawalpindi division so far. Out of these, 242 patients belonged to Rawalpindi while 14 people died in Attock, eight in Jhelum and 27 in Chakwal.

Moreover, 247 people who came from abroad are waiting for their test results.

According to the health authority officials, no screening of positive patients’ contacts was done on Friday. They said there was a target to screen 740 people but it could not be met due to the slow testing process.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that the health authorities had been asked to complete the screening of contacts.

Attock

One person succumbed to the coronavirus in Attock on Friday, health authorities confirmed. A 75-year-old man from Saman village of Hazro died at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Attock, raising the death toll to 17.Attock district witnessed the highest ever single-day spike as 22 new positive cases were reported on Friday.

District focal person for Covid-19 Dr Asif Arbab Niazi confirmed that it was one of the highest eversingle-day spike of coronavirus cases.

He said 13 of the new patients belonged to Attock, four to Hazro, three to Pindigheb and one each to Jandand Fatehjang.

Mr Niazi added that the number of suspected cases has also increased in the district to 3399 while screening of 6980 people had been carried out so far.

He said results of 375 suspected patients were awaited.

Three more tested positive in the Taxila city, raising the tally to 343.

Deputy district officer health Dr Sara Qadeer said all the cases belonged to the urban area of Wah, especially Lalarukh.

She said 17 patients were admitted to hospitals while 90 patients have recovered in the area. She said 221 positive patients were isolated in their homes .— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2020